English- English Tamil School Dictionary

Years ago, it was decided that English should be phased out gradually, giving place to Hindi as the National Language in India. This trend was set in motion in many countries. Years pass by, and there is not even the slightest sign of English fading out of the scene; on the other hand, it is getting more and more popular, making inroads even into the distant far flung country side. The village populace too is becoming conscious of the need to learn this world language. No wonder then, we have a mushroom growth of books that profess to teach English- Learn English in 30 days books, Teach Yourself English books, Learn English through your Mother Tongue books, Correct English, Creative English, Colloquial English books etc., in a variety of ways, from class room teaching to corresponding course books - most of them with some ulterior motive. Many of them may not hope to see the twilight of tomorrow; like fallen leaves, they will be swept off in no time. But in the interregnum, it is the innocent enthusiast who is puzzled and perplexed, deceived and distressed. He does not know what to choose or how to choose and when he makes a choice, how to wade through the murky waters. And so the need is urgent, not merely to the beginner but to most of those who wish to master this great language of English, the need for a good dictionary that can meet the demands of all, now and forever.

A dictionary is a lasting companion to all, be it a learner or a scholar, a good dictionary is indispensable. We come to it again and again; from time to time, we refer, perceive, ponder and pause. It is something we like to possess, an undiminishing treasure we like to draw from again and again.

No doubt we have, here too, an umpteen number of books each laying large claims for superiority. But looks and claims are not worth a blade of grass. The proof is always in its usefulness.

And so we claim that this dictionary does not belong to that brood you find everywhere. It is something different, like a stallion kept for a definite purpose; a class in itself. You have everything here you expect in a good dictionary specially meant for School Students extending to more than 800 pages in demy octavo size encompassing nearly 15000 primary words and more than 70,000 derivative words - every word with its syllabification and phonetic transcription both in English and Tamil, with its part of speech and varied meanings and with all its derivatives. But the crowning feature is the translation, the Tamil rendering of every word with its connotations and denotations, in good modern popular Tamil - something that not merely enlightens, but exhilarates you, as well.

We hope and trust that this great dictionary too, like our English - English - Tamil dictionary will soon become equally popular and benefit all - the connoisseur and the careerist alike.

We shall thankfully acknowledge genuine criticism and constructive suggestions for improvement of this book, assuring that we will implement them in our next print which we hope for in the not too distant a future.

The English phonetic transcription is converted completely into Jones' model.

The special supreme feature worth mentioning is the pioneer inclusion of Tamil Phonetic Transcription with accents and additional faunts not found in the lexical world. This will help the nervous to check up their pronunciation or learn it anew. Weaklings will feel betterand homely with the Tamil version.

We have included a lot of words relating to computer hardware and software.

Perfect pronunciation is a hurdle to Tamil speaking people. Hence kindly go through thoroughly the 'All Phonemes at a Glance' given in the coming pages.

We express our sincere gratitude to Mr. D. Gnanasundaram, who has spent many years of his life as a Researcher in English Language & Phonetic Lexicography.

**Contents and Sample Pages**